Tensions in Jammu rose after the Yuva Rajput Sabha and several Hindu groups protested against the appointment of Muslim doctors at the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board Hospital. These groups argued that since the hospital is funded by Hindu devotees, it should give preference to Hindu medical staff.
Protesters from the Yuva Rajput Sabha claimed that a shrine-supported institution ought to employ Hindu doctors and support personnel so as to align with the religious sentiments of worshippers.
The dispute intensified when it became known that 42 of the 50 students admitted to the inaugural MBBS batch (2025–26) at the newly created Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Institute of Medical Excellence (SMVDIME) were Muslim.
Several Hindutva organisations — including the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Rashtriya Bajrang Dal — described the admissions as lacking religious balance and called for Hindu students to receive preference or some form of reservation.
In a November 1 letter to Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, VHP general secretary Bajrang Bagra reportedly claimed that admitting a predominantly Muslim group of students amounted to a “religious imbalance.” He urged the administration and the Shrine Board to safeguard what he described as the religious sentiments of devotees, Maktoob Media reported.
Bajrang Bagra stated in his letter that institutions associated with the Shrine Board should take into account the religious feelings of devotees and ensure that the organisation’s identity and commitment are not weakened. He also urged the Board to reconsider its recruitment and admission processes so that Hindu teachers and staff are appointed in order to preserve what he described as the institution’s sanctity.
In reality, both admissions and hiring at SMVDIME and the Shrine Board hospital are handled strictly on the basis of NEET rankings and Jammu & Kashmir domicile regulations, with no scope for decisions based on religion.
Nevertheless, the VHP continued to push for changes. Bagra said the organisation expected the Shrine Board to revisit its policies so that the institution’s religious character, as understood by devotees, remained intact. He added that projects undertaken for public welfare should not end up offending the sentiments of those devoted to Mata Rani.
Rakesh Bajrangi, the Jammu president of the Rashtriya Bajrang Dal, argued that distributing 42 MBBS seats to Muslim students, seven to Hindus, and one to a Sikh amounted to discrimination, and he called for immediate intervention.
The Shrine Board has not yet released any formal response to the protests or to the concerns raised by the groups involved.